It has long been said that one of the goals of the "American dream" is to purchase a home. However, individual residential units are not always the preferable residential living style for many people, especially the elderly and the handicapped. In an attempt to combine the desirable features of an individual residential home with the convenience and economic feasibility of multiple residential unit dwellings, a number of different residential structures have been developed.
The most common multiple dwelling unit structure currently available is the apartment building, wherein a plurality of individual residential living units are combined in a single enclosed structure. However, conventional apartment buildings do not provide both an exterior entrance to the apartment and a separate apartment entrance connected through an enclosed spine to an enclosed common area, nor maintain the individual visible identity of each residential unit.
Another type of multiple dwelling unit currently available includes town home structures, wherein a plurality of individual residential units are connected side by side with common demising walls (some times with attached garages) to form a single integrated structure. While town homes accomplish several goals over apartment structures-such as individual exterior entrances, grade level access, and some attached garages-they do not provide enclosed common access to an enclosed commons area, or enclosed common access to other residential units, separate from the exterior entrance.